Book review and author interview: Maribelle’s Shadow by Susannah Marren

source: free ARC via Meryl Moss Media
title: Maribelle’s Shadow by Susannah Marren
published: Published June 27, 2023
genre: fiction/family drama
first line: When is the right time to tell your husband you know he’s a cheater?
rated: 4 out of 5 stars

about:
The only thing that spreads faster than gossip in Palm Beach is news of a mysterious death.
As the editorial director of Palm Beach Confidential, Maribelle Walker knows what lurks beneath the glittering facade of the moneyed elite on Florida’s most glamorous coast. Or does she?
When her adored and impressive husband, Samuel, dies suddenly, the secrets and lies between Maribelle and her sisters rise to the surface. Compounding the anguish, the authenticity of their socially ambitious mother and lavish lifestyle of mansions, privilege and couture clothes is thrown into doubt.
As their carefully constructed image unravels, each sister realizes she must fend for herself. The pathway out is steep and worth any risk. Until the winner takes all.
From a nationally renowned observer of women’s relationships comes Maribelle’s Shadow, a compelling tale of deception and family loyalty.

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my thoughts:
Maribelle’s Shadow by Susannah Marren starts right off with Maribelle knowing her husband Samuel is unfaithful. When Samuel dies unexpectedly in a boating accident, Maribelle finds herself a widow trying to lay her husband to rest when secrets begin to surface about him and the way that he was handling the funds from her family’s business. Their mother hires a forensic accountant named Julian to look into Samuel’s finances and this opens up a whole new can of worms.

While the story progressed slowly, I was curious to find out what was going on with not only Samuel but also the rest of Maribelle’s family. The Florida Palm Beach setting comes to life within these pages as the Barrow family weave in and out of the storyline, each chapter alternating from the POV’s of Maribelle and her two sisters Caroline and Raleigh. Each of these women, as well as their mother Lucinda have something to reveal about the skeletons in their own closets.

The story kept me intrigued even though I didn’t find any of these characters particularly likeable. They all seemed somewhat self-centered and aloof even. Maribelle, a successful businesswoman running a high-end magazine called PB Confidential turned a blind eye to Samuel’s infidelities. She didn’t seem to mourn her husband’s death much. Speaking of Maribelle, she confronts a woman towards the latter half of the book about something and I’m surprised Maribelle didn’t spit in that lady’s face after the reply she got from her. I’ll leave it at that. I wasn’t too crazy about her sisters Caroline and Raleigh either. I can’t go into too much detail without spoilers but Raleigh especially had alot going on in her own life and she’s one of the characters who leaves you shaking your head at her actions as you read.

The story culminates with a satisfying conclusion, but I will mention one big reveal towards the end of the book was completely unexpected even though in hindsight it had been staring me in the face all along. And I found a certain character’s reaction to said reveal to be unbelievable so that pulled me out of the story a bit. Aside from that hard to believe reaction, I enjoyed this one and I liked the how it ended for Maribelle. As I turned the final page and closed the book I was actually happy for Maribelle after everything.

I love a good mystery with family drama blended in and author Susannah Marren delivers that with Maribelle’s Shadow. This was a book about sisters full of plot twists and turns, secrets revealed and flawed characters that had me guessing as I read.

“The slips were emptying out fast, gulls and warblers flapped around the marina. As the Donzi receded, the sound of the Intracoastal lapped against the docs. Caroline couldn’t keep her eyes on the water-there was too much sadness.” p181, Maribelle’s Shadow by Susannah Marren

“What was theirs belonged to them wherever they would go, whoever they would become, before or after.”-p.216 Maribelle’s Shadow

Please read on as the author has kindly stopped by for an interview….

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author interview:
Q: Welcome to my blog Susannah, please tell us a little bit about yourself.

A: Susannah Marren is my pen name and I write nonfiction women’s issue books under my real name, Susan Shapiro Barash. For over twenty years I taught in the writing department at Marymount Manhattan College where my topic was gender. Maribelle’s Shadow is my fourth novel and the third in my Palm Beach novels trilogy. My nonfiction titles include Tripping the Prom Queen: The Truth about Women and Rivalry, You’re Grounded Forever but First Let’s Go Shopping and A Passion for More: Affairs that Make or Break Us. For each of my nonfiction books I have interviewed a diverse group of women across the country to hear how they feel as wives, mothers, daughters, sisters, friends, rivals, mothers in law, daughters in law, and lovers.

Q: How long have you been writing books?
A. I’ve been writing books for years — since college. My first was published in 1993 and Maribelle’s Shadow is my seventeenth book.

Q. In Maribelle’s Shadow we see family drama and secrets unfolding, what was the biggest challenge in writing these characters?

A. The story of the Barrows sisters has been with me for years — always in my head and I had written several versions of their story. From the start I knew what would happen —the beginning and the end. The characters are very real to me, since I had written a nonfiction book on sisters and have kept that study going. I am very interested in how a relationship among sisters plays out, what favoritism is in a family and so that drove how I created these characters.

Q. Who are your favorite authors and what strikes you most about their work?

A. I am a fan of classic writers including Jane Austen, George Elliot, Kate Chopin, Thomas Mann. I admire their characters, writing styles and how they portray women.
Among contemporary writers, William Styron, E. L. Doctorow-who were masters at craft. Elena Ferante, Isabel Allende, Margaret Atwood, Lady Antonia Fraser and Jo Piazza appeal to me for their subject matter, story telling and also how they portray women.

Q: And last but not least, what is your favorite flavor of ice cream?

A. Salty caramel!

Thank you for stopping by Susan! And special thanks to Deb over @ Meryl Moss Media for making this possible.

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Disclaimer: This review is my honest opinion. I did not receive any kind of compensation for reading and reviewing this book. I am under no obligation to write a positive review. My copy of Maribelle’s Shadow by Susannah Marren came via Meryl Moss Media in exchange for my honest thoughts. Nothing in this post is available for download.